The Rochester Knighthawks are 6-10 entering the final weekend of the National Lacrosse League’s 2023-24 regular season. They’ll also be the only team out of 15 pulling double-duty, playing in Georgia (10-7) Friday night, followed by a return to Segar and Sciortino Field at The Blue Cross Arena Sunday afternoon for a matinee against Philadelphia (6-11).
The ’Hawks have dropped four straight after winning three in a row. They are sitting in 12th place in the league’s unified standings. Despite this, there is still a glimmer of hope. If the Knighthawks do their part and get help around the league, Rochester could still find themselves in the playoffs. They are mathematically alive.
“There is hope in our group here,” said Knighthawks head coach Mike Hasen. “We legitimately have a chance. We had a good practice earlier this week. It was probably one of our best all season. We’re making sure that we’re dialed in and focused going into Georgia this Friday.”
While there’s two games in less than 72 hours, Hasen is aware that the team’s approach has to be just one game at a time. The Knighthawks can’t start to think about playing the Wings too soon, because a loss to the Swarm would eliminate them from playoff contention. Here is the scenario Rochester faces going into Week 21:
The Knighthawks will clinch a playoff berth if they win both of their final two games and Vancouver, New York, and Saskatchewan all lose their final games of the season. Each of those three teams will face one of the top three opponents in the NLL (Toronto, San Diego, Albany).
“For playoffs, we need some help, but we also know we have to be our best Friday to give ourselves a chance. There’s some energy there within our team.”
HAMILTON, ON April 13th, 2024 NLL regular season game action between the Rochester Nighthawks and the Toronto Rock on Saturday, April 13th, 2024 at the FirstOntario Centre in Hamilton, Ontario.
(Christian Bender/NLL)
Rochester sports a team full of high-character individuals coming together as a collective. Hasen said there is one thing above all else that he feels his team has learned about themselves throughout this journey.
“They know that they can trust each other. If one guy is having a bit of a downer, we’re going to be able to pick him up. That’s what we hope for every game along the way. We say that internally, being a young team doesn’t hold justice to us anymore, but when you’re young, you look for that growth. We are going to continue to pick each other up and compete.”
Friday marks the second meeting of the season against the Swarm, who trotted out of the Flower City with a 14-12 win on Feb. 10. That game saw contributions from the likes of Connor Fields (1+7) and Ryan Smith (3+2), players that have been in this league for multiple seasons and experienced professionals whom Hasen will look to lean on this weekend.
TAKING TO THE SKIES ✈️
We're heading way down south to Georgia for some Friday night lacrosse tomorrow in the Peach State! pic.twitter.com/mA7bbLSXCW
— Rochester Knighthawks (@RocKnighthawks) April 18, 2024
But the Knighthawks’ bench boss and four-time NLL champion has been in these moments before. Not just on the bench, but on the floor as a player himself. Hasen spent 12 seasons and 150 games patrolling the turf. He knows this requires an all-hands-on deck approach.
“The veteran guys have established themselves. They know what needs to be done, but this really is on all of us. We’re at our best when everyone is touching the ball and we’re moving all around the floor. It takes the collective to do this. We’re not expecting one guy to carry us here. I think it’s now time for us as a group to be judged on this next game, both as individual lacrosse players and as a team. We understand the situation.”
And so, here we are. All or nothing for the Rochester Knighthawks this coming weekend.
“We still have a little bit of control here. Let’s make sure our game Friday night is our best game of the year. If we can do that, then we can sit together as a group Saturday night and watch to see where we stand going into Sunday.”
